Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1887-07-29

BY thEDEhlCh a, ODEh,
Author of Travels in Mexico" Camps in the
Carlibees,' etc.
CHAPTER Wow WE BECAME MILLION
AIRES.
Don Celestino, the next afternoon, mount
ed his pensive biuTO, and led the way west
of the hamlet, across a stream that tumbled
noisily over great boulders, to hut on
hill all alone by itself.
The Don was a comcal old man he was
not an inch over five feet in height his
iron-gray hair was pulled over his eyes,
which twinkled devilishly, and n stubby
beard hid the greater part Of his shrewd old
face Dressed in cotton shirt and wide
cotton trousers, with big and heavy som
| b,rro ON his head and leather sandals Oh
| his stockingless feet, with broad leather
| belt around his waist, into which was thrust
a very old and rusty revolver, he presented
fair picture of the half savage bandit
that once made his home in the forests Of
Mexico. On horsehack-or, rather astride
| his Jrrro-ho was a most laughable figure,
for he kept in such perpetual motion his
short, scanHly -draped legs, each naked
heel armed with an enormous spur, that
they seemed 10 fairly twinkle and appear
quite misty. Whether he was bandit or no
did not concern us but the appetite he
carried did, for it threatened tO consume
all the resources of our commissary, and
gave honest Don Santos "A fit of the sulks
| A disgracefu little dog followed close at
his heels to which lac gave the choicest
morscls from our table. This must be taken
as figure Of speech, since it was not often
we had table, our spread being usually ON
the ground, where the cur could help him
self. Fe,rito the pup, stood 50 high in his
owners regard that we dared not express
our opinion regarding him to the Don, since,
as our chief put it, there was IA possible
gold mine in the Mexican, which We must
not jeopardize by kicking Il paltry puppy.
But one morning | met A. coming from the
rear of the church with smile, that ap-
pearcd as he told me he had improved an
| opportunity to kick Perrito SO earnestly
that we should not be troubled with his
presence that day at dinner. At the soil
tary hut on the hill we left our horses and
descended 10 the bed Of "A deep ravine,
the Don in mysterious confab with his COM
|
| share his secret was in some manner con
nected with his early history. Once in the
ravine they scraped loose heap of stones,
which had been thrown there for "A purpose,
and exposed IA ruin, which our mineralO-
gist examined and pronounced, not gold,
but silver. Two hours later, h. and l. hav-
ing nothing to do but watch the sportive
flight of more blue and gold dragon flies
above pool Of water, left A. and the Don
to continue the search and returned to the
hut A comely Indian girl was preparing
corn for tortHidS, kneeling on the mud floor
and throwing all her strength into the
crushing of the softened maize between the
stone metdipHie, or rolling pin, and the fiat
rock called the mstdH. \ small but brisk
fire burned beside her, above which was an
iron dish, which she frequently covered
with the kneaded meal, turning it over and
suddenly whisking it off, crisp and palat
able tOrtiliG
No thought Of gold disturbed her equan-
unity even the presence Of los A,Hericdaos
who consumed her corn cakes and forced
upon her their silver, hardly caused her TO
raise her head. But what IA shapely head
it was its black lustrous hair neatly coiled
about it in shining braids Her supple
arms were barred to the shoulder through
the loose texture Of her single garment, as
she leaned over her labor, her maidenly bo-
som showed its twin half globes Of golden
bronze. Such gentle eyes she had, such
little hands. she seemed a child pathetic
was the picture she formed in that rude hut
with its scant and primitive furniture Life
could have but little amenity for her the
highest enjoyment she could look forward
to would be the journey to the capital, a
trudge over the hills Of a hundred miles, a
day spent wandering open-eyed in the city,
and the weary return. Labor was her lot,
from dawn till late into the night her life
would he chiefly spent in kneeing before
that stone idol of her ancestors-the ntetdH.
Yet | never behed more of serenity ex-
pressed in any human figure than in that of
this child woman doomed to IA life of unre-
mitting toll.
The shadow Of the hill had heightened it
self beyond the ravine and was crawling
into the forest, where it would lose itself
and never appear again till tomorrow and
the chief and | proposed to depart ere the
sun, then near the horizon, should have set,
with no light by which to thread II some
what perious path But we were delayed
by the appearance of our companions the
mineralogist, who was laboring under
great excitement and Don Celestino, whose
countenance glstened with a certain fero
cious glee
I'VE have struck it at last ~ gasped our
optimistic struck it rich the
Don and have discovered Gig Of horn
silrer, with at least $40, 600 600 right in
sight :"
rs rerdad" lit is true . chuckled the
Don 'mddd mes o BieHOr"-not a dollar
more or less ~
gasped and turned in astonished silence
to b., our worthy chief, who remarked,
calmly, and with the air of one who had
expected nothing else, "Then we are all
millonaires Let's 20 down, the sun is
setting"
And I, " said the naturalist "Do you
include me You know | only came along
to hunt butterflies and beetles am mill
| ionaire, too =
YES, include YOU answered b. "You
have, in sense, assisted at this discovery
and YOU may consider yourself million
airen
1t was bewildering. We all mounted and
rode back in a dazc. We were in
prospective-m millionaires. Our chief
know what he was thinking of-he would
now take that journey into the Orient, foI
long years held in contemplation the min
eralogist loudly proclaimed that he would
ransack the entire republic of Mexico, and
) bring 10 the light of scientific investigation
| every ruin it contained known and un
known; while the naturalist whispered
softly to himself that he would perhaps ac
complish that exploration Of the mysteri
Gus continent, and bring thence what his
soul longs after--a new bird
The mineralogist asked permission
which was joyfully granted-to name the
first shaft in the new mine after his wife
and TO have the hammer, with which the
precious specimens were Clipped off, gilded
and hung up in the office OF the company
which is to be formed Immediately is
as soon as we can get back 10 "a region civ
ilized enough for companies to flourish in
and "denounce" our property, and place
| the stock ON the market. We now saw in
Don Celestino an heroic example of con
stancy to an ideal and belief in himself
truly pathetic. He was no longer small
and scraggy "greaser," with capacity un-
limited for spelling our grub he was
now Senior Don Celestino de Ocote, cdbeHe
rO of undoubted Castilian lineage and SC
he gorged himself without exciting even
the lifting of an eyebrow, and fed It'd bits OF
our precious canned meat TO PerritO, that
| ill-favoTed cur we had hitherto kicked and
cuffed at every secret opportunity, who
actually leered at us, as he trotted about
and snapped viciously at A. 5 heels without
causing remark.
1t was at first proposed by the mineralo-
gist, that we send TO Oaxaca for basket
of champagne, or st. Louis beer, both be
. ing equally expensive but the naturalist
persuaded him to postpone the celebration
till our return, and he drained the village